Hivvir
The Hivvir are one of two intelligent inhabitants of the planet Ivrilu in the 41 G. Arae system, the other being the Hiilo. The Hivvir are natural gliders, with winglike lateral extensions of skin called patagia that allow them to soar great distances in the low gravity, higher pressure atmosphere of Ivrilu. Evolution Ivrilu has a surface gravity only 63% that of Earth, and 125% the atmospheric pressure, enabling far more avenues for evolution to enable powered flight. The Hivvir's distant ancestors--and the common ancestors of all "vertebrates" on Ivrilu-- resembled six-limbed crosses between octopuses and frogs with gliding membranes. Later descendants of these ancestors evolved a more tetrapod-esque body plan, with two of the limbs becoming vestigial, but the membranes remained. The Hivvir and the Hillo are the only known instance of two sapient species coexisting on the same planet, as well as the only instance of one sapient species splitting into two. They are bipedal, standing roughly 1.9 meters tall and are noticeably more slender than humans, with no hair or other integument to speak of. They posses eyesight far superior to natural humans, with eyes that can move independently of each other and possess seven color receptors compared to human's natural three. History 'Early Civilization' Early Hivvir civilization reached its height in the 14th Century BCE. The Hivvir were unique for having achieved spaceflight twice in their history, and prior to the collapse in the 14th Century had established several colonies on Ivrilu's moon and several captured asteroids. The collapse was the result of several of these colonies being used Ivrilu's major powers to bombard each other, causing a new ice age. 'The Great Schism' Over the next thousand years, the Hivvir slowly recovered, after suffering under the new ice age the planet became suitable for large agrarian societies once again. It was at this point that Ivrilu was invaded and largely conquered by the Hiilo, who had splintered from the Hivvir over the last thousand years in the old orbital colonies. They, like the Hivvir endured a new dark age while cut off from the home-world, and while most of the Hivvir living in space died within a year of losing contact with their home planet, one group of only a few dozen colonists were able to create a sustainable biosphere on one of the orbiting asteroids. Through a combination of selective breeding and above average exposure to radiation, the Hiilo eventually emerged as a separate species adapted for space. While Ivrilu suffered under an ice age, the Hivvir eventually achieved a somewhat advanced, albeit tightly controlled civilization, with digital computers and solar energy when humans had not discovered gunpowder. The Hiilo Empire ruled over Ivrilu for only two centuries, eventually collapsing after a disastrous civil war in the 17th century CE. There is some evidence to suggest that they may have been capable of warp travel at the time of collapse, however this is hotly disputed by local and terran scholars alike, as the Hiilo only had a handful of colonies beyond the orbit of Ivrilu prior to the Great War. 'First Contact' At the time of First Contact, the Hivvir and Hiilo lived chiefly on Ivrilu, with most of the colonies having been lost in the Great War 500 years prior. They have since rediscovered spaceflight, but are still operating primarily with mechanical computers. The Hiilo were nearly extinct by the time humans arrived and those that still lived were used for slave labor in space. Category:Alien species